How to Plan a Honeymoon

Your honeymoon is your opportunity to relax after the wedding. After months of planning and running around making sure everything is perfect, it’s your chance to sit back and not worry about work, wedding details or anything at all. Traditionally, the honeymoon happens immediately after the wedding; however, more recently, it has become common to wait for the honeymoon, for up to even a year after the wedding. Whichever approach you take, planning is required!

Typically, 6-8 months out, you want to start planning and booking your honeymoon. You’ll want to consider things like the time of year (ie: hurricane season), travel time: flights to Bora Bora were exponentially longer than our flight to Aruba – which would cut into our time there, and what type of honeymoon you want: relaxing? Active? Nightlife?

If you’re looking for a BIG trip, consider Seychelles, Bali, the Greek Isles, the Galapagos Islands or New Zealand. If you and your husband-to-be are active, check out Kauai, Nevis, Costa Rica, or hopping around Europe (think, London, Paris, Ireland, Amsterdam, and Rome). If sitting on a beach is your ideal honeymoon, you can likely get a much shorter flight than some of the previously mentioned locations. Look at Aruba, Belize, Jamaica, or St. Thomas. Once you’ve narrowed down a location, you can start looking into resorts.

If a beach is what you’re looking for, you’ll want to consider the proximity from the hotel to the beach. You’ll also want to understand how the chairs and palapas on the beach work – are they free or do you have to pay extra? If you’re traveling abroad and will be doing more sightseeing than sitting in the sand, check out boutique hotels or bed & breakfasts to get a good feel of the country. You can also look into Air BnB (https://www.airbnb.com/) or VRBO (http://www.vrbo.com/). Kid-free is definitely the way to go if you’re hoping for a relaxing week. You’ll also want to check out the amenities, and select your hotel based on what you’ll want/need during your time there. If you don’t plan on using the spa, working out or golfing, you might want to consider a different resort because even if it’s not laid out for you on the bill, you’re likely paying for those amenities to exist for other hotel guests.

Once you’ve booked your trip, you don’t really have to think much about it until you start packing. And while you won’t be thinking about it from a planning perspective, you’ll certainly be looking forward to sneaking off with your brand new husband for your first big trip as a married couple.

Leave us (and future brides and grooms!) a comment with your recommendation for the best honeymoon spots!

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